Caught Up in the Acting
by Redeeming Red
Summary: Camille really wants to get Logan back, and she has developed the perfect plan to regain his affections. James really wants to understand his own emotions, and he is perfectly planless. James/Camille.
1. Tearful Tales

**SOOO I felt like writing fanfiction, and I felt inspired for this idea, so here you go! The first part of this had been written since February of 2011, WOW. So I edited it, added to it, and voila! First chapter produced! This story is going to be short and sweet, as will all of the chapters. Enjoy.**

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James waltzed through the Palm Woods lobby, humming quietly to himself as he returned from a late evening jog. Since he was merely donning a casual tank top and a worn pair of sweatpants, he made sure to waltz extra speedily, hoping that nobody would see him. He didn't want to—heaven forbid—be sighted by the public in such a state of unfashion. He quickly rubbed his sweat rag over his face and gave it a quick swipe across his forehead, just in case someone _were_ to see him. That way he'd look at least _somewhat_ presentable. Maybe the gleam of his sweat would even look like a naturally healthy shine. Just as he passed the doors to the pool, a quiet sniffling noise caught his ear. James halted both his humming and his waltzing, and listened. Sure enough, someone was crying quietly. Curiosity piqued, James hesitantly entered the pool area, making sure he was still obscured from sight.

He saw Camille, hunched over on a lounge chair, hugging her knees to her chest and shielding her face with her hair. Her whole body trembled with her soft sobs. Thoughts of his ragged appearance vanished as James dashed to the lounge, quickly kneeling beside it. He couldn't help it. He'd always had a sort of…respect for Camille. He secretly admired how boldly she pursued her dreams, her determined nature and confidence often reminding him of himself. Plus, she was funny. And pretty. And maybe James still didn't fully regret that one time he kissed her a little longer than he should've. And he just naturally had a big heart beneath his godlike exterior, so really. He simply couldn't stop himself from bounding to the rescue.

"Camille? Camille, what's wrong?" he asked quietly, gently laying a cautious hand on her back. He didn't want to be _too_ forward with her. That could land him an authentic Camille slap across the face.

Camille jumped at the touch in surprise, and James flinched, mentally preparing himself for the burning sensation that was sure to follow. But instead, Camille raised her head and looked at him with red, puffy eyes, makeup smeared and cheeks reddened from crying. James' heart broke a little at the sight. This was the kind of thing that got to that big heart of his.

"J-James?" she sniffled pretty loudly. To the average person, the noise might've sounded really gross, but not to James. "What're you doing here?"  
James smiled weakly, "I heard you crying in the lobby."

Camille didn't say anything. She just stared at her feet, snuffling as a few more tears dripped down her cheeks. "You…you wanna talk about it?" James ventured nervously, praying he wouldn't upset the girl further. He could talk to girls pretty easily when it came to flirting, but if he was being honest, talking to girls about girl problems was not a skill he had mastered.

Camille turned to eye James again. Her lip quivered and before James could blink she had flung herself into his arms, crying loudly. "He broke up with me, James!" she wailed, "Logan broke up with me! He said 'never again' and that we should see other people and not waste our time with petty relationships."

James was startled, and he tried, to the best of his ability, to rub Camille's back as she wept incessantly into his shoulder. The cogs in his head, which oftentimes experienced a great lack of use, were now turning full speed. Logan broke up with Camille? Again? Forever? James frowned thoughtfully, pushing his brain to its limits. But why would anyone want to do that? Especially Logan of all people—the really smart one! Because sure, James supposed Camille was probably a tad too dramatic at times and she might be the kind of girl that was just generally fussy about things. But she was also the kind of girl that was really awesome, so James didn't understand why in the world Logan would ever give her up. It wasn't like girls were lining up to date the braniac either, so yeah. James didn't follow his motives on that decision.

"Gee Camille, I, uh, I'm really sorry," James said, stumbling over his words slightly, his brow knit together in thought as he tried to say everything just right.

Camille sniffed again, pulling out of James' arms and rubbing her eyes, smudging her makeup all over her face. She looked pretty scary, but thankfully, James wasn't that easily scared. "Thanks, James," she choked out, voice tight and strained, "I guess it's for the best, right? I mean…everything happens for a reason, right?"

"_Right!_" James was about to agree wholeheartedly, whatever he needed to say to cheer Camille up, but it was then that she relapsed into another onslaught of tears. "I just don't know what I did ruh-wrong!" she blubbered, "We were so in love and so happy, and it all just happened so fast! I just want to go back in time and be happy again and get him back—"

Camille stopped mid-sob, her eyes suddenly brightening at a frighteningly quick rate. James had zoned out during the story, but the immediate change of expression caught his attention once more. He began to grow concerned, especially when Camille giggled giddily, a smile breaking across her face. "Uh, Camille?"

"Get him back! That's it!" Camille clapped her hands once, giggling once more, "I just need to prove to him that I'm right for him! If I can make him as happy as he was before, he'll have to take me back!"

James was not the brightest of persons, but even he frowned a bit at the plan. "But didn't he say 'never again?'" James reminded her pensively.

"Oh, he didn't mean that!" Camille brushed off the comment carelessly, "Besides, even if he did, I'll be sure to change his mind with my new plan: 'Luring Logan into Love!' Or 'Plan Triple L,' as I call it."

The announcement of the plan's title had been accompanied by a dramatic flourish of Camille's hand. Her eyes had turned dreamlike, obviously already envisioning her success and very happy future with Logan. To James, the entire operation already sounded very grandiose. "So are you sure this will work?" James asked cautiously, still quite baffled by the process.

"Of course it will!" Camille waved her hand flippantly, signifying that the whole scheme would be a cinch, "Especially since you're going to help me!"

"I am?" James had already forgotten that he'd volunteered. Oh wait.

"Of course!" Camille took James' hands into hers excitedly, "You wouldn't turn down a friend need, right? That's why you came over here, right—to help me? I mean, you want me to be happy with Logan, don't you?"

James had to squinch his eyes shut, both brow and nose thoroughly wrinkled as he tried to intake this cornucopia of information. _So many questions!_ All of this was happening exceptionally quickly, and it was beginning to remind James of the first algebra final he ever took. "I guess so?" James figured that was a fairly safe answer.

"Great!" Camille clearly translated James' uncertainty as an affirmative, "Our first 'Plan Triple L' meeting will be tomorrow! Oh thanks so much, James! You're the best friend ever!"

Camille tossed her arms around James' shoulders once more, embracing him fully to show her gratitude. Before James could react, she had sprung off of the lounge chair and was skipping into the Palm Woods. James sat there, dazed. And very perplexed. And in pain—or at least his brain was. He hated headaches, and he could feel a pretty big one coming on.

_What had he gotten himself into?_


	2. Ankle Accidents

**Sorry for the wait! I'm hoping to finish up this puppy before the dawn of summer.**

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A day passed with no exchanged interaction between James and Camille. But on the second day, James was casually strolling through the lobby when he tripped over a rope strung tight across the carpet and his body was sprawled across the floor for a split second. But only for a split second because after a split second it was being yanked behind the fern in the corner. He was quite alarmed at the speed in which the event was executed, even when he was met by Camille's very excited face. "Was that really necessary?" he sputtered.

Camille frowned at the question and abruptly nodded her head, "Of course. Now, it's time to put 'Plan Triple L' into action! You ready?"

James was still thinking about how quickly he had been dragged into the corner, "Uh…"

"Great!" Camille clasped her hands together, thrilled with the consent he hadn't exactly given, "So here's the plan. We wait for Logan to come to the lobby. When he arrives, I emerge and dramatically fall, injuring myself. Logan is unable to resist his inner doctor and rushes to help heal me and is instantly smacked in the face with the realization that he's still madly in love with me. Capeesh?"

"Um yeah," James replied, mulling over the idea with great effort, "But what am I supposed to do?"

"Oh, you help ham it up," Camille explained, "Make the whole thing look like a travesty! Pretend…pretend like your lucky comb has been stolen!"

James gave an audible shriek at the notion, hastily nodding his head in agreement when he recognized the gravity of the situation, "Ok, I can do that."

"Of course you can. Now remember, when Logan rounds that corner I'm going to—" Camille's sentence ended in a high-pitched squeal that injured James' eardrums just a bit. He hurriedly looked in the direction to which she was staring with wide, terror-filled eyes to see what was causing her such panic. He saw that Logan had, in fact, already rounded the corner and passed by their hiding fern—bizarrely oblivious to Camille's screeching. Maybe he was too used to it to notice…

"Emergency Code Red!" Camille yelped, Logan by now almost out of the Palm Woods, their chances of catching his attention zipping down to zero. She leapt out from behind the fern, hollering to James, "Just play along!"

With that, she plummeted to the carpet dramatically, a fatalistic scream falling from her lips. "Oh, help me!" she cried out, her legs crossing as she tripped, her shoe catching a dolly's wheel and tumbling the cart on top of her twisted body, a suitcase bonking her in the head. James winced, unsure of whether or not that particular part was planned.

"Send for a doctor!" she tearfully ordered the aghast onlookers, and sure enough, Logan's ears perked like a puppy's, his body instantly spinning toward the sound.

He had obviously heard the prior noise, but it was that single word that gained his full attention. His eyes widened at the scene before him, and he was dauntlessly rushing to Camille's aid within moments. James peered over the fern leaves as Logan knelt by Camille's side. "Camille," he daintily untangled her limbs, lifting the dolly and laying it aside, "Gosh, are you okay?"

Camille managed a very weary smile, little pitiable tears tracking down her cheeks. James was sure that was the exact look she was going for—a heart-wrenching damsel in distress rather than an obnoxiously sobbing victim of a suitcase attack. "Much better now that you're here," she whispered, reaching up to lay a hand on his cheek, "I knew you'd come back for me."

Logan's pupils enlarged with a sudden horror, "Uh, I-I, um, should—"

Camille hastily recognized her mistake, retracting her hand, "I mean—Doctor Logan! Please, help! I can't feel my leg!"

Logan relaxed slightly, "Oh, well let's have a look at it."

James felt his stomach clench in a funny way as Logan tenderly extended Camille's leg. He didn't know why; he blamed the odd taco Carlos had dared him to eat earlier. Everyone who's anyone knows that James Diamond never denies a dare.

"Well, it doesn't look too bad," Logan diagnosed professionally, studying the aftermath of the disaster, "Except for…oh. Wow, you're bleeding a lot!"

"I can feel my strength leaving me," Camille supplied faintly, "A darkness…closing in all around me…oh! Is this truly the end?"

Logan began to look panicky again, "Uh, stay with me, Camille!" He glanced over his shoulder, "Can someone please stay with her while I go get a bandage?"

Except there wasn't anyone there. The temporary crowd had dissipated, probably assuming this was just more of Camille's crazy shenanigans. Which, technically, it was. Everybody knew everybody too well. "Um, anyone?" Logan tried again, beginning to look fearful at the awareness that he was alone with Camille, "At all?"

Camille rolled her eyes behind Logan's back, "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure _James_ is around here somewhere!"

The way Camille sniped his name reminded James that he actually hadn't budged throughout the entire duration of the show…er, accident. He stumbled out from behind the fern, never one to miss his cues. "Hey! Someone call my name?" he inquired casually, assuring himself that Logan wouldn't in the slightest sense find it peculiar for him to have been concealing himself behind a plant.

"James, thank goodness!" Logan truly looked relieved as he spoke the words, "Here, get some paper towels from behind Bitters' desk and press them on Camille's cut. I'll be right back with a bandage!"

Logan scurried off before James could question or Camille could protest. Which now left James and Camille alone in the lobby. "Well, you heard him, get some paper towels," Camille grumbled, visibly disappointed at her momentary abandonment.

"Right," James obediently fetched a roll of paper towels, hoping Bitters would understand, and ripped some off, wadding them together into a fat little square. He assumed Logan's position, stooping down onto his knees and lifting Camille's leg. He supported it midair with one hand, as he had observed Logan doing, and he pressed the paper towel to it with the other.

A silence passed over them, and James' heart began to experience little tremors that he couldn't explain. So he rapidly began talking, hoping to still them. "So how exactly are you bleeding so much anyway? It didn't look so bad."

Camille shrugged, "Stage makeup and red food dye."

James gaped at her, "But…how'd you have time to—"

"An actress never reveals her secrets," Camille smirked, waving her hand in a rather haughty "shooing" motion.

"But you fooled Logan; he studies this kind of stuff," James pointed out.

Camille shrugged once more, peering up at James from her position on the floor, "He was in a hurry. Besides, it's just a cut. They aren't that hard to fake."

James hoped he didn't look as amazed as he felt, because honestly, he was pretty amazed. Tricking Logan was no small task. "That's pretty cool," he admitted indifferently.

"I know," Camille grinned up at him, and although she probably wasn't trying to look flirty…she looked kind of flirty from James' angle when she said it. And pretty, with her curls haloed out behind her head and her warm brown eyes smiling up at James. James gulped.

He decided to look at her leg instead, but that was no better. His large, perfectly tanned hand stood out against her creamy, ivory skin. Her calf curled as he cupped it in his palm, just enough to show she worked out but not way too much so that she looked like one of those freaky musclewomen. Her skin was soft and smooth and…and those pesky heart tremor things were really starting to scare James.

"Here, this should do the trick!" Logan's voice resembled an angel's to James's ears, and he quickly plopped Camille's leg into Logan's hands as the doctor took over once more. And as Camille dreamily stared up at her hero, who was more focused on wrapping the bandage than acknowledging her gaze of gratitude, James realized something else. His stomach was clenching again. And he was still having those heart tremors. He made a mental note to never again try Carlos' tacos.


End file.
